Introductory lecture to a course of lectures upon comparative anatomy, and the diseases of domestic animals : delivered November 3, 1813 / by James Mease.

  • Mease, James, 1771-1846.
Date:
1814
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: Introductory lecture to a course of lectures upon comparative anatomy, and the diseases of domestic animals : delivered November 3, 1813 / by James Mease. Source: Wellcome Collection.

Provider: This material has been provided by the National Library of Medicine (U.S.), through the Medical Heritage Library. The original may be consulted at the National Library of Medicine (U.S.)

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    valry is rendered necessary, by the war in which the United States are engaged But independently of this latter consi- deration, which is of a public nature, and certainly of suffi- cient consequence to claim the notice of government ,• if the noble animal, the horse, considered in a domestic view, were alone the object of our attention, the importance and high value set upon him, when his powers for either speed or draught, or the beauty of his form have been greatly im- proved, would be an inducement sufficiently great to autho- rise a course of instruction upon his structure, diseases, and the means of preserving his health. As it is very probable that a part of my hearers are en- tirely unacquainted with the subject upon which I am to lec- ture, and even with the meaning of the words Comparative Anatomy it is due to the importance of this branch of knowledge to explain them, to show what attention the stu- dy has excited in the old world, to enumerate the names of the distinguished characters who have cultivated it, and to lay before you the very great benefits derived from it, in elucidating the structure and functions of the human body, and explaining the doctrines of its physiology : in aiding the Painter, Sculptor, and Engraver, and lastly, to point out its intimate connexion with Veterinary Medicine. By the term Comparative Anatomy is understood, the investigation of the structure of brute animals; and its ob- jects are to demonstrate the diversity that exists among si- milar organs, and analogous parts, and to compare them with one another, and with man. It is reasonable to suppose that this study must have at- tracted the attention of mankind in very early times. The slaughter of animals for food, the preparation of the offer- ings on the altar by the priest, and the custom of deducing auguries from the state of the entrails, would naturally lead to some knowledge of the structure and appearances of the parts: we know likewise, from the book of Exodus, that names were even attached to them, and the parts dcclar-